Gas-heater for internal-combustion engines



(No Model.) l

W. ST. G. ELLIOTT, J1-. A GAS HEATER FOR INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINES.

No. 523,628.' Patented July Z4, 1894.

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WILLIAM ST. GEORGE ELLIOTT, JR., OF WALDEN, NEW YORK.

GAS-HEATER FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES. l

SPECIFICATIQNforming part of Letters Patent No. 523,628, dated July 24, 1894. Application filed November 12, 1892. seria No. 451,774. (No model.)

.To all whom it may con/cern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Sfr. GEORGE ELLIOTT, J r., of Walden, in the county ot' Orange and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas- I-Ieaters for Internal- Combustion Engines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawlngs, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

My present invention is designed for use in connection with those forms of internal combustion engines in which the charging gas is compressed into a receiver and thence ad-v mitted into the cylinder or exploding chamber, of the engine and burned.

My invention has especial reference to the gas storing and heating apparatus, and its objects are to tirst'zf-to improve the construction of the gas heater or regenerator, and secfrom mingling with the cold /gases in the receiver during the working of the engine as to lose their heat, and therefore the invention brietly'consists in the novel construction of the regenerator, andin the means of securing the tubes therein; in a novel separator for preventing free mixture of the gases from the pump with those in the receiver, and in novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings ,Figure l is a central vertical longitudinal section through the regenerator, separator, and side view of a receiver. Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1, indicating the engine and pump by dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a detail showing the manner of fastening the regenerator tubes.

Referring to the drawings by letters, A represents the regenerator, B the separator communicating with the regenerator by a pipe F; and C the receiver communicating with the separator by a pipe D. The regenerator is constructed of an outer shell a5 closed near.

to a head a which closes the upper end of would be unserviceable, therefore I make the openings in the heads conical and drive conical hollow plugs al@ into the ends of tubes, as shown in Fig. 3. This expands the ends of tubes and secures them without weakening them, and I herein disclaim the use of coni'- cal-threaded plugs as they would be unservice'able and in connection with the thin tubes I employ.

Over and to head a I secure a plate a4. The

adjoining faces ot' the plate and head are recessed as shown to form a chamber A4 with which the upper ends of all the tubes communicate. `A plate a2 is secured to the under surface of head a3 and the'adjoining faces thereof recessed, forminga chamber A5 with which the lower ends of the tubes communicate. Pipe F connects with this chamberA5 vby one end, which passes through a stufng box a6 on head all so as to permit the pipe end to rise and fall with head @sowing to con- 'traction or expansion of the tubes.

The chamber A4 communicates by pipe Z with the exploding chamber or cylinder of the engine. f l

The interior of the shell, exterior to tubes aB is filled with the heated exhaust or exploded gases from the engine, which enters at one end of shell through pipe G, and leaves at the other end through pipe I-I. In order to bring the exploded gasesinto close contact with the tubes, I employ a series of partition plates al which are placed one above the other in the shell and through suitable openings in which the tubes pass. The plates are cut away at one edge, to leave a passage for the gases, and are so arranged that the gases must move alternately across the tubes, in a zig-zag direction, in passing from pipe Gto pipe H. The plates are spaced apart by means of sleeves a9, on some of the tubes about three sleeves being employed under each plate.

The sleeves tit the tubes closely, and the tubes fit closely in the openings ot the plate so that the heat can be extracted from the waste gases and delivered to the gas in the tubes both by radiation and conduction.

The separator consists of a shell b, similar to, but smaller` than shell d5, closed at top by a plate B', and covered exteriorly by a lagging b2 of non-heat-conducting material. The pipe F communicates with the interior of the separator by a tangential opening b3 near its upper end, and above opening b3 is another tangential opening b4 which communicates with a pipe E leading to a gas pump.

B2, B2, are a series of disks suspended by a bolt B4 within the separator one above the other, but all below openings b3, said disks being separated by sleeves B3 on the bolt. The pipe D enters the lower end of separator, below the disks. The receiver is of any desired construction, of suilicient size and strength to hold a quantity of gas under pressure. A valve D is put in pipe Dto prevent leakage from the receiver when the engine is not running.

The separator has a draw-oft cock b5 for drawingr out any condensed oils or moisture.

In operation the receiver is filled with gas under pressure and when the engine is started the gases from the pump, heated by compression are forced into the separator B and owing to the location of openings b3, b4, the incoming gases are kept in the upper part of the separator, the cooler gases in the lower part thereof crowding back into the receiver, then at the proper time the warm gases are sucked from the separator, into the exploding chamber through pipe F and connections and if any extra amount ot' gas is required it is taken from the receiver, and if an over supply of gas is pumped into the separator it is stored in the receiver. The separator also is useful to cause the precipitation of any oil or moisture with which the gases might be saturated. The compressed gases are forced through tubes as, being heated during their passage therethrough by the exterior burned gases, in the regenerator, and the tubes can be made very thin Without damage as the greatest pressure is on their interior and as the tubes and lower head are freely suspended in the shell there is no danger of injury from expansion and contraction ot parts, due to change of temperature. lVhen pipes E and F are in line they are set at different levels in order that no eddies will be caused in the separator as would be if they were on a level, as the pumping in and drawing out of gases does not usually occur at the same time.

The separator is useful by itself, to save the heat of the gases from the pump, and so the regenerator is useful without the separater, hence I desire to claim them when used separately or together.

I may employ a single cylinder and piston in my engine, utilizing one end of the cylinder at one side of the piston as the air pump, and the other end of cylinder, at opposite side of the piston as the exploding chamber. In Fig. 2 I have indicated by dotted lines a single acting engine connected with the above described apparatus, thus of course the form of engine may be varied,

Having thus described my invention, what I Wish to secure by Letters Patent thereon, is-

1. For a gas engine a regeneratorconsisting of a series of tubes connected to chambered heads and suspended by one of said heads within a close vessel one of said heads being free to move in the vessel, so that the tubes can freely expand or contract, the respective chambered heads communicating with a gas inlet and outlet pipes, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the shell having a bottom, a series of tubes connected to chambered heads and suspended in said shell, the lower head being free to move in the shell and the upper head closing theupper end of the shell, gas inlet and outlet pipes respectively communicating with the chambers in said heads, and inlet and outlet pipes for conducting heated gases through the shell, exterior to the tubes, substantially as specied.

3. For a gas engine a regenerator consisting ot a series of tubes connected to chambered heads and suspended by one of said heads within a close vessel, so that the tubes can freely expand or contract one of said heads being free to move in the vessel, the respective chambered heads communicating with gas inlet and outlet pipes, a series of partitions in said vessel, forming a zig-zag passage around the tubes, and inlet and outlet pipes connecting with the opposite ends of said passage, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the shell having a bottom, a series of tubes connected to chambered heads and suspended in said shell, the lower head being free to movein the shell and the upper head closing the upper end of -the shell, gas inlet and outlet pipes respectively 'communicating with the chambers in said to the tubes, and a series of plates arranged in the shell between the heads, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a closed cylindrica vessel with an inlet and outlet pipe, communieating tangentially therewith at one end and at different levels, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of the closed vessel a gas receiver communicating therewith, at one end, and a gas supply pipe and outlet pipes communicating therewith near the other end, substantially as described.

7 The combination with a pump, a receiver and a regcnerator of a separator consisting of a closed vessel having inlet and outlet openings b3, b respectively communicating with TOO the regenerator and pump, and the disks B2 suspended therein below the openings and a communication between the separator and receiver below said disks, substantial7 as specified. v

8. The combination with a pump, a receiver and a regenerator, of a separator consisting of a closed vessel having inlet and outlet openings b, b? respectively communicating with the regenerator and pump, and the pipeleading from the receiver into the lower end of the separator, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination with the shell closed at bottom, the head a closing the upper end of said shell, the chambered plate a4, secured to y said head, the tubes as attached to and suspended from head a', the head as attached to the lower ends of the tubes and thereby freely suspended within the shell, the charnbered plate a2 attached to head a3, and the pipes F and Z, and G, H, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially as described.

10. The combination of the receiver C, the separator B, and a regenerator, the pipe D connecting the receiver and separator, the

pipe F connecting the separator and regenerator, the pipes E leading into the separator, and pipe Z communicatingwithpipe F through the generator, and the pipes G and H for directing burned gases to and from the regenerator, substantially as specified.

11. The combination with the shell closed at bottom, the head a closing the upper end of said shell, the chambered plate a4, secured to said head, the tubes as attached to and suspended from head a', the head ai attached to the lower ends of the tubes and thereby freely suspended within the shell, the chambered plate a2 attached to head d3, and the pipe F and pipe Zcommunicating with pipe F through the generator, and the pipes G and H for directing burned gases to and from the regenerator, and the partition plates a7, and separating sleeves a, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

12. The combination of the closed vessel a gas receiver communicating therewith, at one end, and gas inlet and outlet pipes communicating therewith at different levels near the other end, with deflecting disks suspended in said vessel between the said pipes and communicating with the receiver, substantially as described.

13. A separator for gas engines, adapted to be interposed between the pump and receiver and receiver and combustion cylinder, and so y constructed that the hot gases passingfrom the pump through the separator to the regenerator, will be kept out of contact with the cooler gases in the receiver, substantially as` specified.

14. In a gas engine the combination of a pump a chamber, pipes leading from the pump, to the engine cylinder, communlcatlng with said chamber, a receiver, and a pipe leading from said receiver to said chamber, provided with a hand valve, substantially as described.

15. In a gas engine the combination of a separator having pipes leading from the engine pump, communications for conducting gas from the separator to the exploding cham'- ber of the engine, a receiver, and a pipe connecting the receiver and separator and having a hand valve.

. 16. In a gas engine the combination of a pump, a receiver, wherein the compressed gases are stored, having one pipe serving as both outlet and inlet, and a regenerator inter# posed between the engine and receiver substantially as specified.

17. The combination with a gas engine, of a gas pump, a receiver, a chamber or closed vessel interposed between the pump and receiver and communicating respectively therewith at opposite ends, and a communication between the said chamber, (at the end adjoining the pump connection) and the engine cylinder, substantially as set forth.

18. In a gas engine the combination of the pump and exploding chamber, the regenerar' torAcommunicatingwith theexplodingchamber, and the separator B interposed between the pump and regenerator and communicating with both, all substantially as described.

19. In a gas engine the combination of the pump and exploding chamber, the receiver indirectly communicating with both the pump and the exploding chamber, and a separator interposed between the receiver and pump, and exploding chamber, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially asspecified.

20. In a gas engine, the combination of the pump and exploding chamber, the receiver, and the regenerator, and pipe connections all constructed and arranged to co-operate, substantially as described.

2l. In a gas engine the combination of the pump and exploding chamber, the receiver, separator and regenerator and pipe connections, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.'l

WILLIAM Sl. GEORGE ELLIOTT, JR.

Witnesses:

IRVING H. LOUGHRAN,

ICO

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